Plan to let taxis in diamond lanes questioned

A city councillor is questioning the wisdom of allowing taxis to use diamond lanes, saying it will endanger cyclists and slow down buses.

"The engineers have said, 'No, we do not recommend this.' So to hear this come out in one of those recommendations (on Monday) is really concerning," said Coun. Janice Lukes.

Some fear a pilot project proposed to allow taxis 24-hour access to diamond lanes for one year would endanger cyclists and slow down buses.

Coun. Janice Lukes (South Winnipeg-St. Norbert) notes both those risks were raised by city engineers in the past, which previously sparked rejections of the idea.

“The City of Winnipeg is not designed like other cities, with big freeways and rapid corridors for vehicles. So by filling the diamond lane with taxi cabs, it would slow down (Winnipeg Transit) service and it would also create real safety concerns for cyclists who are using the diamond lane also,” said Lukes.

Currently, only buses and cyclists are allowed in diamond lanes during peak travel periods, times when all other vehicles can only use the lanes to approach a turn.

The pilot project was included in a package of vehicles-for-hire bylaw amendments that followed complaints from the taxi industry. Taxi drivers particularly opposed its call to charge higher licensing fees for cabs than ride-share vehicles and require driver shields, cameras and strobe lights for taxis only.

But Lukes questioned the wisdom of issuing the pilot project compromise at the expense of following the advice of city experts.

“The engineers have said, ‘No, we do not recommend this.’ So to hear this come out in one of those recommendations (on Monday) is really concerning. It again shows how the engineers are just being over-ridden by decisions that, really, I have to question,” said Lukes.

Mayor Brian Bowman said the one-year timeline, however, will allow the city to test out the practice before committing to any permanent change.

“We have been very open to doing our best to mitigating the requests and the concerns of the (taxi) industry,” said Bowman. “The verdict will be out on whether it works or not. That’s why what’s being proposed isn’t to make the change but to have a pilot.”

The mayor noted taxis already have full access to diamond lanes in Edmonton and Toronto, which also have ride-sharing vehicles.

A spokesperson for the taxi industry, which has lobbied for years to get full access to diamond lanes, welcomed the change.

“This greatly improves service in downtown Winnipeg. It will get Winnipeggers to their destinations a lot quicker,” said Scott McFadyen, spokesperson for the Winnipeg Community Taxi Coalition.

McFadyen said he believes that the trial period offers plenty of time to sort out any potential issues from that access.

“The one-year review is very smart and we’ll work with the city to make sure this rolls out as safely as possible,” he said.

Council will vote on the proposed amendments, as well as the bylaw, on Wednesday. That bylaw could allow ride-sharing vehicles to operate in Winnipeg as early as March 1.

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